Best Kison Patel Podcasts (2025)

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How to Score Culture Fit in M&A with Sharon Van Zeeland 59:32

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12h ago59:32

59:32

Sharon Van Zeeland, Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Rockwell Automation Sharon brings a unique engineer's perspective to the softest parts of M&A. In this episode, Sharon reveals how Rockwell developed a systematic scoring system for evaluating culture fit during due diligence—complete with numerical rankings across key dime…

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Making M&A Boring (And Why That's a Good Thing) with Leon Brujis 1:07:50

4d ago1:07:50

1:07:50

Leon Brujis, Partner and Co-Head of U.S. at 65 Equity Partners Leon Brujis shares how his firm is redefining private equity through non-control investments in founder-led businesses. In this conversation, Leon breaks down why the best companies are never for sale, how immigrant adaptability translates to investing success, and why boring, disciplin…

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Integration Starts with Hiring, Not the Deal with Brandon Batt 57:34

11d ago57:34

57:34

Brandon Batt – Chief People and Transformation Officer at Quadient Brandon Batt joins us to discuss how successful M&A integration starts long before you sign an LOI. Brandon shares how Quadient built M&A capability across the organization through strategic hiring, created a transformation office that breaks down traditional silos, and executed por…

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Strategic M&A Framework: IFS's Acquisition Playbook with Rachel Hindley 1:02:25

21d ago1:02:25

1:02:25

Rachel Hindley, Vice President of Corporate Development, IFS Rachel oversees transformative acquisitions for the global leader in industrial AI and enterprise software. In this episode, Rachel shares how IFS navigates the unique dynamics of having three major private equity backers—EQT, HG, and TA Associates—while executing strategic deals that enh…

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Mastering Carve-Out Transactions with Keith Crawford 58:07

28d ago58:07

58:07

Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street Corporation Keith Crawford, Global Head of Corporate Development and M&A at State Street Corporation, brings over 20 years of expertise executing some of the most intricate custody business carve-outs in financial services. In this episode, Keith breaks down the realities …

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Integration-Led M&A: Cisco's Approach to Deal Success Part 2 with Johanna Jaakola and Tesia Hostetler 45:43

1M ago45:43

45:43

Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco Johanna Jaakola, Integration Lead on Cisco's Corporate Development Integration Team, and Tesia Hostetler, Leader of Cisco's Acquisition Integration Practice, continue their deep dive into Cisco's integr…

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Integration-Led Diligence: Cisco's M&A Approach with Johanna Jaakola & Tesia Hostetle 39:39

1M ago39:39

39:39

Johanna Jaakola – Integration Lead, Corporate Development Integration Team, Cisco Tesia Hostetler – Leader, Acquisition Integration Practice, Cisco Johanna Jaakola, Integration Lead on Cisco's Corporate Development Integration Team, and Tesia Hostetler, Leader of Cisco's Acquisition Integration Practice, share how one of the world's most prolific a…

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When Integration Beats Roll-Ups with Tim Hall 1:12:42

2M ago1:12:42

1:12:42

Tim Hall - Managing Partner and Founder, Brenton Point Capital Tim brings 29 years of private equity experience to this conversation about what actually works in buy-and-build strategies. After launching Brenton Point in 2024 following a 20-year run at CI Capital Partners, where he completed 200+ acquisitions across 12 platforms, Tim breaks down th…

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Buyer-Led M&A™ Strategy at Snowflake with Stefan WIlliams 55:46

2M ago55:46

55:46

Stefan Williams - Vice President of Corporate Development and Snowflake Ventures at Snowflake Stefan Williams, Vice President of Corporate Development and Snowflake Ventures at Snowflake, leads the company's acquisition strategy, corporate venture capital, and startup accelerator programs. In this episode, Stefan takes us inside Snowflake's discipl…

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Corporate Development Strategy: Notion's M&A Approach with Hilary Shirazi 1:02:21

2M ago1:02:21

1:02:21

Hilary Shirazi - Head of Corporate Development at Notion Hilary Shirazi, Head of Corporate Development at Notion, brings over a decade of M&A experience from LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Zendesk to discuss building corporate development strategy at high-growth tech companies. She shares her proven deal thesis methodology, the "Four T's" framework for c…

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How Corporate Venture Capital 2.0 is Reshaping M&A with Jennifer Miller 50:41

3M ago50:41

50:41

Jennifer Miller - Senior Director of Corporate Development, Oshkosh Corporation Jennifer Miller, Senior Director of Corporate Development at Oshkosh Corporation, brings over 24 years of M&A experience spanning investment banking, boutique advisory, and corporate development. In this episode, she reveals how Oshkosh evolved their corporate venture c…

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M&A Integration Reality: Deal Economics vs Human Dynamics with Nicole Markowski 58:02

3M ago58:02

58:02

Nicole Markowski - Former Director of Business Integration and Operations, Wipfli Join Nicole as she shares unvarnished truths from managing 30+ transactions. Nicole reveals how integration-led diligence prevents value destruction, why traditional deal economics often miss critical human factors, and practical strategies for maintaining the human t…

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Strategic M&A at Scale: Insight Partners' Buyer-Led Approach with Byron Lichtenstein 59:04

3M ago59:04

59:04

Byron Lichtenstein, Managing Director at Insight Partners Byron brings over a decade of experience scaling M&A operations across one of the world's leading software investors. In this episode, Byron breaks down how Insight executes buyer-led M&A at scale, supporting CEOs across their 500+ portfolio companies from sourcing through integration. He sh…

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Think Like a Buyer: Valuation & Deal Structuring with Javier Enrile 53:43

4M ago53:43

53:43

Javier Enrile, Managing Director of M&A at TIAA In this episode, he breaks down the art and science of thinking like a strategic buyer—from building proprietary deal pipelines through relationship-first sourcing to using sophisticated valuation techniques that separate intrinsic value from market noise. Javier reveals why patient relationship build…

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Founder Exit Strategy: Xavier Gury on M&A Deal Terms vs Valuation 1:06:13

4M ago1:06:13

1:06:13

Xavier Gury, Founding Partner at Wind Xavier Gury, founding partner at Wind venture capital firm, brings a unique triple perspective to M&A: serial entrepreneur, acquisition target, and now investor. In this episode, Xavier unpacks the critical lessons from his three successful exits, including one transformative deal with Publicis, where he struct…

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M&A Execution: Strategy from Skadden Expert Arash Attar 38:40

4M ago38:40

38:40

Arash Attar-Rezvani - M&A Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP In part two of this masterclass conversation, Arash Attar-Rezvani gets into the execution challenges that separate successful M&A practitioners from the rest. From deconstructing French labor consultation myths to revealing how AI will reshape legal advisory models, this se…

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Cross-Border M&A Strategy: Navigating Complex International Deals with Arash Attar-Rezvani 42:25

4M ago42:25

42:25

Arash Attar-Rezvani - M&A Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Arash Attar-Rezvani, M&A Partner at Skadden based in Paris, brings over two decades of cross-border M&A strategy experience to this in-depth conversation. From billion-dollar telecom deals across Latin America to luxury brand acquisitions spanning multiple jurisdictions, Ar…

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Building Successful Buy-and-Build Platforms: Alpine's Blueprint for Strategic M&A with Haley Van Cleve 58:42

4M ago58:42

58:42

Haley Van Cleve, Partner at Alpine Investors Haley joins us to decode the art of building successful buy-and-build platforms from the ground up. In this episode, Haley walks through Alpine's proven methodology for transforming small $3M EBITDA businesses into $100M+ platforms through strategic M&A and operational excellence. Learn how Alpine's uniq…

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M&A in Healthcare with John Palusci 56:46

5M ago56:46

56:46

John Palusci, Former Vice President of Transformation and Strategic Finance, BAYADA In this episode of M&A Science, John Palusci, former Vice President of Transformation and Strategic Finance at BAYADA, joins Kison Patel to discuss how to build a repeatable, Buyer-Led M&A™ engine within a nonprofit structure. John walks through his journey from IT …

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The Secrets to Sourcing Proprietary Deals in Private Equity with Ryan Gable 1:02:28

5M ago1:02:28

1:02:28

Ryan Gable, Managing Partner, BW Forsyth Partners Ryan discusses how his team uses a hybrid private equity model backed by Barry-Wehmiller to execute people-first, long-term acquisitions. With over 55 deals and zero exits, Forsyth has developed a sourcing and integration playbook that challenges traditional PE norms, focusing instead on trust, cult…

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Why Pendo Buys Startups (And It's Not for Revenue) with Todd Olson 1:02:31

5M ago1:02:31

1:02:31

Todd Olson, CEO and Co-founder, Pendo From buying startups to speed up roadmap execution to preserving founder autonomy post-close, Todd breaks down the real levers behind successful acquisitions. This episode dives into how Pendo thinks about M&A without a corporate development team, why it rarely buys for revenue, and how Todd's team avoids commo…

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Why Beacon Created an AI Committee for M&A—and What They're Testing Next (Part 2) with Harrison Thomas 43:41

5M ago43:41

43:41

Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc. In Part 2 of our conversation, we go deep into how Beacon is operationalizing M&A. Harrison reveals how they reduced their request list by over 65%, why they require third parties to use their DealRoom, and how integration now begins before the deal is even signed. He…

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Why Beacon Created an AI Committee for M&A with Harrison Thomas 33:16

5M ago33:16

33:16

Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, Inc. In Part 1 of our conversation with Harrison Thomas, Chief Growth Officer at Beacon Specialized Living Services, we dive into how one of the largest providers of specialized behavioral health services is rethinking M&A using AI. Harrison shares why Beacon created a ded…

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How to Break Into M&A: Lessons from Todd Manley Part 2 45:44

5M ago45:44

45:44

Todd Manley, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Intel In Part 2 of our conversation with Todd Manley, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Intel, we unpack how professionals from diverse backgrounds can successfully break into M&A and what it takes to build and maintain high-performing deal teams. Todd shares tactical advice on networ…

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Build a Career in M&A: Lessons from Intel's Todd Manley 50:24

5M ago50:24

50:24

Todd Manley, VP of Corporate Development Integration at Intel In this episode, Todd Manley joins Kison Patel to share his non-traditional path into the world of M&A. Starting his career in IT and organizational behavior, Todd brings a unique lens to integration and leadership in corporate development. From his early consulting days to overseeing in…